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| United States Patent |
6,199,938
|
|
Choi
|
March 13, 2001
|
Sliding door locking device for vehicle
Abstract
Disclosed is a sliding door locking device for a vehicle. The sliding door
locking device for a vehicle comprises a striker secured to a sliding door
to be integrally reciprocated along with the sliding door; a housing
fastened to a body of the vehicle and having a slot into which the striker
is inserted when the sliding door is closed; and a latch lock pivotally
fixed to and inside the housing and having an engaging piece which is
connected with a fuel filler lid through a cable, the latch lock being
formed with a latch groove which functions to prevent the striker inserted
into the slot of the housing from being moved out of the slot when the
fuel filler lid is opened, thereby locking the striker inside the slot.
| Inventors:
|
Choi; Jae-hong (Namyangju, KR)
|
| Assignee:
|
Kia Motors Corporation (Seoul, KR)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
610367 |
| Filed:
|
July 5, 2000 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Current U.S. Class: |
296/155; 292/DIG.46; 296/97.22 |
| Intern'l Class: |
B62D 025/00; B60J 005/06 |
| Field of Search: |
296/155,97.22
292/DIG. 46
180/286
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 4620744 | Nov., 1986 | Tui et al. | 296/155.
|
| 5454618 | Oct., 1995 | Sullivan | 296/97.
|
| 5520431 | May., 1996 | Kapes et al. | 296/97.
|
| 5538312 | Jul., 1996 | Lehmkuhl | 296/97.
|
| 5676416 | Oct., 1997 | Cooper | 296/97.
|
| 5769481 | Jun., 1998 | Cooper | 296/97.
|
| 5906405 | May., 1999 | Cooper | 296/97.
|
| 6007141 | Dec., 1999 | Thomas et al. | 296/155.
|
Primary Examiner: Pape; Joseph D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A sliding door locking device for a vehicle, comprising:
a striker secured to a sliding door to be integrally reciprocated along
with the sliding door;
a housing fastened to a body of the vehicle and having a slot into which
the striker is inserted when the sliding door is closed; and
a latch lock pivotally fixed to and inside the housing and having an
engaging piece which is connected with a fuel filler lid through a cable,
the latch lock being formed with a latch groove which functions to prevent
the striker inserted into the slot of the housing from being moved out of
the slot when the fuel filler lid is opened, thereby locking the striker
inside the slot.
2. The sliding door locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the latch
lock is formed in a manner such that, when the striker is locked inside
the slot, a latch rotation shaft of the latch lock is positioned below a
horizontal center line of the striker and a curved latch surface defining
the latch groove, with which the striker is brought into contact, is
defined above the horizontal center line of the striker while extending
upward.
3. The sliding door locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein, when the
striker is locked inside the slot, the striker is engaged with the latch
surface defining the latch groove, along a line of a virtual circular arc
which is formed by a radius which extends from a center of the latch
rotation shaft to a point where the striker and the latch surface are
brought into contact with each other.
4. The sliding door locking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, while
the striker is locked inside the slot, an apex of a contact area between
the striker and the latch surface is defined at a point where a tangent
line of the virtual circular arc is crossed with the radius which extends
from the center of the latch rotation shaft to the point where the striker
and the latch surface are brought into contact with each other.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sliding door locking device for a
vehicle such as a van, which locks a sliding door provided at a side of a
body of the vehicle when a fuel filler lid is opened, and more
particularly, the present invention relates to a sliding door locking
device for a vehicle, in which a striker for locking and unlocking a
sliding door and a latch lock are designed in a manner such that a
mechanical interaction therebetween is optimized, thereby reducing
manufacturing cost and rendering a simple structure of the entire sliding
door locking device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as the leisure-seeking segment of the population has experienced
growing numbers, a van type vehicle has made gains public favor. The van
type vehicle adopts a sliding door at a side of its body, from the
standpoint of passengers' convenience. The sliding door is provided at one
side, that is, a left side or a right side of the body of the vehicle, and
a fuel filler lid of the vehicle is arranged on the other side which is
opposite to the one side having the sliding door.
In the meanwhile, these days, another van type vehicle which adopts a pair
of sliding doors arranged at both sides, respectively of a body of the
vehicle, in view of passengers convenience, is gaining in popularity. If
the pair of sliding doors are arranged at both sides of the body as
described above, as shown in FIG. 1, a fuel filler lid 1 is arranged along
with the sliding door 12 at one side of the body.
However, in the vehicle in which the sliding door is arranged along with
the fuel filler door at one side of the body of the vehicle, when the
sliding door is opened, at the one side having the fuel filler lid within
the limits of movement of the sliding door, while the fuel filler lid is
opened and fuel is being filled into a fuel tank, there has a problem the
sliding door can be collide with the fuel filler lid.
To cope with this problem, a sliding door locking device for a vehicle is
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,744. The sliding door locking device
serves to prevent a sliding door which is provided at the same side of a
body of the vehicle, with a fuel filler lid, from being opened when the
fuel filler lid is opened. In the sliding door locking device, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3, an operating part 103 of an actuating lever 102 is located
inward of a fuel filler lid 101 which is hingedly opened and closed. The
actuating lever 102 is connected via a link member 104 having a rod-shaped
configuration to a stopper lever 107 which acts on a stop member 106.
Therefore, if the operating part 103 of the actuating lever 102 is pulled
after the fuel filler lid 101 is opened, as the actuating lever 102 is
hingedly rotated, the actuating lever 102 pulls the link member 104.
According to this, the link member 104 rotates the stopper lever 107, and
as a free end 107a of the stopper lever 107 is engaged with the stop
member 106 of a sliding door 105, the sliding door 105 is prevented from
being moved.
However, the sliding door locking device constructed as mentioned above
still encounters a problem in that its operation involves annoying
features. Also, in addition to the above described device, arrangements as
stated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,520,431 and 5,676,416, yet still suffer from
defects in that since they have complicated structures, they require a
significant number of parts which increase both manufacturing cost and
assembly time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the
problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present
invention is to provide a sliding door locking device for a vehicle, in
which a striker for controlling opening and closing of a sliding door and
a mechanism for limiting the movement of the striker are designed to
render a simple stricture of the sliding door locking device, thereby
reducing manufacturing cost.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention,
there is provided a sliding door locking device for a vehicle, comprising:
a striker secured to a sliding door to be integrally reciprocated along
with the sliding door; a housing fastened to a body of the vehicle and
having a slot into which the striker is inserted when the sliding door is
closed; and a latch lock pivotally fixed to and inside the housing and
having an engaging piece which is connected with a fuel filler lid through
a cable, the latch lock being formed with a latch groove which functions
to prevent the striker inserted into the slot of the housing from being
moved out of the slot when the fuel filler lid is opened, thereby locking
the striker inside the slot.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following
detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a van type vehicle to which the
present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state wherein a
conventional sliding door locking device for a vehicle unlocks a sliding
door;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another state wherein the
conventional sliding door locking device for a vehicle locks the sliding
door;
FIG. 4 is an exploded front view illustrating an entire structure of a
sliding door locking device for a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment
of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state wherein the sliding
door locking device for a vehicle according to the present invention
unlocks a sliding door;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another state wherein the
sliding door locking device for a vehicle according to the present
invention locks the sliding door; and
FIG. 7 is a schematic view for explaining a geometrical configuration of a
latch lock which is incorporated into the sliding door locking device for
a vehicle according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of
the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying
drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used
throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like
parts.
FIG. 4 is an exploded front view illustrating an entire structure of a
sliding door locking device for a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment
of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, a fuel filler lid 1 is
integrally connected with a hinge connection arm 3 which is elastically
supported by a spring 2. A cable 6 for actuating a latch lock 5 is
connected to a hinge shaft 4 of the hinge connection arm 3. The latch lock
5 is connected with the cable 6 via an engaging piece 9 by which a ball
member 8 fastened to the cable 6 is supported. The latch lock 5 is
received in a housing 7. The latch lock 5 is pivotally supported in the
housing 7 by a latch rotation shaft 10 which is secured to the housing 7.
Also, the latch lock 5 is elastically supported by a spring 11 which is
wound around the latch rotation shaft 10.
On the other hand, the sliding door locking device for a vehicle in
accordance with this embodiment of the present invention includes a
striker 13, the housing 7 and the latch lock 5. The striker 13 is secured
to a sliding door 12 to be integrally reciprocated along with the sliding
door 12. The housing 7 is fastened to a body of the vehicle and has a slot
14 into which the striker 13 is inserted when the sliding door 12 is
closed. The latch lock 5 is pivotally fixed to and inside the housing 7
and has the engaging piece 9 which is connected with the fuel filler lid 1
via the cable 6. The latch lock 5 is formed with a latch groove 15 which
functions to prevent the striker 13 inserted into the slot 14 of the
housing 7 from being moved out of the slot 14 when the fuel filler lid 1
is opened, thereby locking the striker 13 inside the slot 14.
Here, the latch lock 5 is formed in a manner such that, when the striker 13
is locked inside the slot 14 as shown in FIG. 6, the latch rotation shaft
10 of the latch lock 5 is defined below a horizontal center line H of the
striker 13 and a curved latch surface 16 defining the latch groove 15,
with which the striker 13 is brought into contact, is defined above the
horizontal center line H of the striker 13 while the curved latch surface
16 extends upward.
Also, as can be readily seen from FIG. 7, in a state wherein the striker 13
is locked inside the slot 14, that is, the fuel filler lid 1 is opened to
lock the sliding door 12, the striker 13 is engaged with the latch surface
16 defining the latch groove 15, along a line of a virtual circular arc S
which is formed by a radius R which extends from a center of the latch
rotation shaft 10 to a point where the striker 13 and the latch surface 16
are brought into contact with each other.
On the other hand, while the striker 13 is locked inside the slot 14, an
apex of a contact area between the striker 13 and the latch surface 16 is
defined at a point where a tangent line L of the virtual circular arc S is
crossed with the radius R which extends from the center of the latch
rotation shaft 10 to the point where the striker 13 and the latch surface
16 are brought into contact with each other.
In a description of operations of the sliding door locking device for a
vehicle according to the present invention, constructed as mentioned
above, if the sliding door 12 is closed, the striker 13 is inserted into
the slot 14, as shown in FIG. 5, which is defined in the housing 7, and
after being moved inward along the slot 14, the striker 13 is maintained
in a stopped state.
In a state wherein the sliding door 12 is closed, if the fuel filler lid 1
is opened as shown in FIG. 4, to allow fuel to be filled into a fuel tank,
the cable 6 is pulled by a distance which is induced by the rotational
displacement of the fuel filler lid 1, and force is transferred to the
latch lock 5 through the engaging piece 9, whereby the latch lock 5 is
rotated by a predetermined angle in a counterclockwise direction about the
latch rotation shaft 10, as shown in FIG. 6. If the latch lock 5 is
rotated as described above, as a portion of the latch lock 5 which defines
the latch groove 15 surrounds the striker 13, the striker 13 is
accommodated in the latch groove 15 and is prevented from moving leftward
when viewed from a plane of FIG. 6, whereby the sliding door 12 to which
the striker 13 is fastened cannot be opened.
If the fuel filler lid 1 is closed after filling fuel into the fuel tank,
the pulled cable 6 is released, and according to this, the latch lock 5 is
rotated by the predetermined angle in a clockwise direction about the
latch rotation shaft 10 by the elastic force of the spring 11, whereby the
latch lock 5 is returned to its original position as shown in FIG. 5.
Consequently, as the striker 13 is unlocked from the latch groove 15, the
sliding door 12 can be opened.
As described above, the sliding door locking device for a vehicle according
to the present invention provides advantages in that, since a striker and
a latch lock are designed in a manner such that a mechanical interaction
therebetween is optimized, manufacturing cost is reduced and a simple
structure of the entire sliding door locking device is accomplished.
In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical
preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are
employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not
for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in
the following claims.
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